Power-translating device.



No. 725,978. .PATENTED A PR. 21,1903. e.- w. MARBLE.

OWER TRANSLATING DEVICE. Y APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1902. F0 MQDEL. A I 3 SHEETS-SHEET l. I

No- '725,9" 78-' 7 r PATENTEDAPR.21,1903,

' je. w. MARBLE.

" POWER TRANS'LATING, DEVICE.

APPLIOATIOII FILED SEPT. 18, 1902.

UNITED OFFICE.

GEORGE w. MARBLE, o -iinoinnnniv; M en-lean, AssieNoR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THn ARpLn-sw m nToMoBILE COMPANY.

Pow EaANs Ln rifi EVI E: e.

SPEGIFEGATION forming part of- Letters P'atent no. 725,978,:dated'Apri1 2'1, 1 903-.

I, .i ucttitnlrnd September ,1 62; Serial 1%.1231822.?(No inodeld To all whom it mpoyiconccz rathis specification.

power-translating devices.

The object of my invention is to provide a power-translating device by means of which power from a prime mover operating at a practically constant velocity may be delivered to a driven mechanism at any desired speed within the compass of the source of power. 1

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the class described whereby the direction of rotation of the driven mech-,

anism may be quickly and conveniently reversed without changing the direction of rotation of the prime;mover; and a still further object of myinvention is to provide a means whereby the speedof rotation of the driven mechanism-maybe varied in gradually increasing and. decreas in g gradations,. whereby 'the-effective torque or turningeffortf of the driven mechanismis proportionately increased as the velo'citythereof is decreased.

With these and other objects in view,which' will readily become apparent to persons vehicle running-gear providedwith. my power- Fig. 2 is an enlarged translating device. broken-away plan view of the device. is a section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 3 Fig.

4 is an enlarged transverse section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a section taken V I online 66 ofFig. 2. Fig. 7 is a'section taken Be it known that. I,"GEQRGE :WPMARBLE, of Buchanan; in' ithetcounty of Berrienand State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power-Translating Devices; and I hereby declare that the; following is a full, clear, and exact descri'p- 1 tion thereof, reference being hadto theac companying drawings, which form'part'of InIall of .the ,views the same ,numerals of reference indicate similar parts.

{:The two.coaxially placed driven shafts 8 and 9 .areadapted to be independently rotated by-means of the friction-disks 10 and 11, which areplaced in confronting positions and fixed to the respective shafts by any convenjent means. The disks are each provided with My invention relates to improvements in annular grooves 12, made into their respective peripheries for the reception of brakeshoes 13 and 14. The shafts 8 and 9 may be directly connected to the traction-wheels of a self-propelling vehicle or they may beindirectly connected by any suitable power- .transmitting medium, such as the chain 15 and suitable sprocket-wheels, when the device is, to ,b e, used in; connection with such driven machine. V

The; translating device. is shown bodily supportedupon the vehicle-frame 16, which for convenience is made of channel-iron. The

.shaftsS and 9 areisupported in bearings 17 and 18, respectively, and. these are fixed to the frame 16-by suit-able bolts.- In practice the bearing should extend nearer to the hubs of the ,respectivedisks than shown to proyide a rigid practical construction. .A brace .lgrises frombearing17, being fixed to the bearin'g;18.' .A'similarlower brace 20 is fixed .to opposite sides of the frame 16. A yokeframe 21is pivoted at 22inthebrace 20 and .at-2 3 in the brace19, upon whichpivots it is capableof a slight oscillating motion. The pivot.;24 is fixed ,to the said yoke and the handle25 is provided for moving the yoke slightly on.-i ts;bearings. A shaft- 2 6 -is provided with a longitudinalspline 27 between bearings and is provided; with bearings 28 and 29 on the yo'ke'2lf Driving *fri'ctionwheels 30 and 31 are mounted upon-the shaft 126 and are each provided-with positive driving engagement therewith by means of a feather carried by each wheel and which enters the spline 27, thereby permitting the said friction-wheels to be each moved longitudinally along the shaft 26. The friction-wheels 30 and 31 are provided with annular grooved hubs 32 and 33, respectively, into which forked downwardly-depending arms 34 and 35 engage. These arms are respectively connected to geared racks 36 and 37, which have sliding hearings in the yoke 21. They are reciprocated by rotating the geared pinion 38, a handle 39 being provided for that purpose, whereby the friction -wheels may each be coincidently reciprocated across the faces of the driven friction-disks and 11. The friction-wheels 30 and 31 may be by this means quickly moved coincident from positions which they are shown to occupy in Fig. 5 to positions approaching the axial center of the confronting disks 10 and 11 and to any positions intermediate of these two extremes in either direction.

A slight rotary effort impressed upon the handles will oscillate the frame 21, carrying the shaft 26 and the friction-wheels and 31, until the said wheels are brought into driving contact with the face of the disks 10 and 11, respectively, at corresponding radial positions. If now the shaft 26 be rotated by a single source of power or by two sources of power, as exemplified by engines 40 and 41 in Fig. 1, then the friction-wheel 30 by making driving contact with disk 10 on one side of its axis will rotate disk 10 and shaft 8 in a given direction, and friction -wheel 31 by making driving contact with disk 11 on the opposite side of the common axis will rotate the disk 11 and accompanying shaft 9 in like direction. If now the impressed effort on handle 25 be applied in the opposite direction, the yoke 21 will be slightly rotated and both friction-wheels 30 and 31 will make contact with opposite disks. Then the shafts 8 and 9 will be reversed with reference to the direction in which they were previously rota ted, and the vehicle by which they are driven will be propelled in the opposite direction.

Brackets 42 are fixed to the brace-frame 20, to which the brake-shoes 13 13 and 14' 14 are pivoted. A shaft 13 is supported by brackets fixed to the brace-frame 19 and carries two small dru ms 44 and 45, around which straps 46 47 are wound when the handle 48 is slightly rotated for the purpose of applying the brake to prevent the rotation of the respective disks 1O 11.

Engines 40 and 4-1 are connected to the shaft 26 by means of tumbling-shafts 49 and 50 to permit a slight displacement of shaft 26 when the yoke 21 is oscillated.

It is obvious that my device may be employed to drive a single shaft, either 8 or 9, and preserve all of the attendant benefits that obtain when two driven shafts are used, and it is also evident that thedisks 10 and 11, when two are used,or either when used singly, may become the driver and that the shaft 26 may be driven thereby without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a power-translating device, the combination with a laterally-fixed friction-disk, of a shaft divided into two sections in a plane intercepting its axis, a flexible connection joining abutting ends of said sections, a movable shaft-supporting hearing at each end of the flexible section of said shaft, a structure carrying said bearings adapted and arranged to move said shaft, two friction-wheels carried directly upon said shaft, adapted and arranged to make peripheral contact with the face of the said disk on opposite sides of its axis of rotation, and a means for simultaneously moving the bearing-supports for defiecting said shaft to effect driving contact of one of said wheels with said disk and to remove the other wheel therefrom.

2. In a power-translating device, the combination with a laterally-fixed friction-disk, of a shaft divided into two sections in a plane intercepting its axis, a flexible connection joining abutting ends of said section, a movable shaft-supporting hearing at each end of the flexible section of said shaft, a structure carrying said bearings adapted and arranged to move said shaft, two friction-Wheels carried directly upon said shaft adapted and arranged to make peripheral contact with the face of the said disk on opposite sides of its axis of rotation, a means for coincidently moving said wheels across the respective opposite radii of said disk, and a means for moving the bearing-supports for deflecting said shaft to effect driving contact of one of said wheels with said disk and to remove the other wheel therefrom.

3. In a power-translating device, the combination with two laterally-fixed confronting friction-disks, of a shaft divided into two 'sections in a plane intercepting its axis, a flexible connection joining abutting ends of said sections intermediate of said disks, a movable shaft-supporting bearing at each end of said shaft, a structure carrying said bearings adapted and arranged to move the flexible section of said shaft, two friction-wheels carried by said flexible section of said shaft adapted and arranged to make peripheral contact with the face of either of said frictiondisks on opposite sides of their axis of rotation, and a means for moving the bearingsupports for deflecting said shaft, to eifect driving contact of one of said wheels with one of'said disks, and simultaneously eifecting contact of the associated wheel with the other disk.

4. In a power-translating device, the combination with two laterally-fixed confronting friction-disks, of two intermediate wheels, each adapted and arranged to be placed in frictional rotatable contact with either of said IIO disks, a shaft divided into two sections in a plane intercepting its axis, a flexible connection joining abutting ends'of said sections, upon one section of which said wheels are mounted, a yoke arranged to be oscillated, shaft-supporting bearings for each end of said flexible section of said shafts carried bysaid yoke,and a means for'oscillating said yoke to deflect said flexible section of said shaft and bearings for effecting contact of 10 said Wheels with said disks.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. MARBLE. In presence of- GEO. P. SWIFT, FOBEE BAIN. 

